Storming the Castle Part 1

When we came to, we were a decent length away from the castle which had an ominous look to it. It was as if it reached the sky and seemed to be somewhat broken down from what looked like poor maintenance. The original color was probably a bright white, but all that was left was a small amount of white with most of the castle turning a dark color or being covered with moss. There were also two large statues of what looked to be knights on both sides of the castle doors; they had to of been at least thirty ft tall. Overgrown plants and grass covered the entire area outside, almost as if no one had tried to take care of it for many years. If you gave it another decade, the castle would probably collapse on its own with the condition it's in.

Before we did anything the Demon Lord, Shalene, appeared before us with her wings spread flying in the air. The people in the group with access to ranged attacks started barraging her with attacks, but they were completely useless. A red barrier, just like the one from the last time we saw her appeared, and all the attacks were blocked. Everyone soon stopped attacking since it was futile and would only waste our resources.

"You humans dare step your feet on my land, on my castle!?"

Anger coursed through her voice, but she soon gathered her composer before speaking again.

"It doesn't matter; it's just a final effort from those pitiful nations. You're not worth my time, GUARDS!"

She flapped her wings, flying toward the top of the castle, and as she did that, the castle doors opened, releasing hordes of demons and undead of all shapes and sizes at us. The large knight statues also began to move, albeit very slowly; at the rate they were moving, they would reach us by the time we defeated the other monsters.

"EVERYONE! GET READY TO FIGHT!"

It wasn't Mike speaking, but rather someone else. I didn't really know who it was, but from how they spoke, they seemed to be used to directing people. Maybe they're another guild leader or something.

Some of the lower leveled players seemed to be a bit scared, but everyone else made sure they were completely ready; some of them even used up some potions to temporarily enhance themselves.

"TANKS! TAKE THE LEAD AND CHARGE FORWARD! EVERYONE ELSE FOLLOW BEHIND THEM!"

The tanks took the lead, and just like the person had requested, everyone followed behind them as they charged into battle. The tanks collided with the frontline of demons and undead, and while they held their ground, all of the other melee combat-focused classes swarmed the left and right sides of the enemy forces, trapping them. The archers were launching arrows into the crowd of enemies; with how many demons and undead there were, it was very unlikely that their arrows would hit their own team, plus, even if they did, their armor could most certainly defend against it. Swords and other weapons clashed together, and soon enough the hordes of enemies grew smaller and smaller; however, there was still a big problem, or rather two.

The two large statues that were moving slowly picked up the pace a bit. The mages were launching magic at them while the archers were firing explosive arrows, and while those did hold them back a little, they quickly reached our frontline. The statues swung their huge swords at the tanks, and they had to move out of the way and dodge. Some of them didn't move in time, and while they didn't quite die, they took a lot of damage. The statues seemed to disregard the fact that the demons and undead were on its side as it swung at us since it had killed a large group of them while targeting us.

"ARCHERS, MAGES! TRY TO MAKE THEM FALL! TARGET THEIR LEGS!"

Just as the person had requested, the mages and archers started targeting their legs. One of the statue's legs seemed to already be damaged, so it had quickly broken and the statue fell to the ground, crushing many more of our enemies as it was unable to get back up. The one on the ground struggled a bit, but there wasn't much it could do. Some players rushed in and started using hammers and other such heavy and bludgeoning weapons to quickly finish it off. They destroyed its head and turned to the other statue. The other statue's legs seemed undamaged, so they wouldn't break so easily, however, its head looked like it was in rough shape. Enough magic and arrows should hopefully be enough to finish it off.

"TARGET ITS HEAD! ITS HEAD IS DAMAGED!"

The tanks quickly returned to their frontline position while everyone else targeted the demons, undead, and statues. Volleys of arrows flew at the remaining statue's head, and when they hit, the statue flinched and turned away a bit. It looked to be effective. The statue turned to where the arrows had come from and started making its way to the archers and mages. It was dragging its sword behind it as it walked, leaving a trench that grew larger and larger with every step it took. The archers fired again, but this time the statue had blocked most of the arrows by putting its hand in front of its face. If the frontline fell back to try and help, then they would be overwhelmed by demons without backline support, and if the main damage dealers fell back, then the tanks would die. The archers and mages were on their own; they had to defeat the statue on their own. As it grew closer to the backline, the mages finally relented and started using high-level magic. They wanted to save their MP as much as possible due to how long it takes to recharge, but their hands were tied here.

Spears of fire and beams of light barraged the statue's head, and while it had tried to block it with its hand, it was to no avail as its hand all but disintegrated and the magic pierced its head. The statue fell to its knees, and everyone within its radius started moving as fast as possible so as to not be crushed by it. The statue had fully fallen over, and luckily no one was crushed under it.

By this time, everyone else was finishing their battle with the demons and the undead. Their numbers grew smaller by the minute, and soon enough none of them remained. After the battle, most people were taking a second to catch their breath and recuperate, but Mike quickly got everyone's attention and spoke up.

"EVERYONE, REMEMBER WE NEED TO BEAT THIS AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! WE NEED TO KEEP MOVING!"

The army of players knew that, after all, that's what they signed up for. Everyone began running toward the doors of the castle which had remained open this whole time. They were determined; they would conquer this castle and kill the Demon Lord.